Reality check...

Why does Vince need to kiss their butts? He's not down there to be sweet. He's down there to win basketball games. Even games where the other team's plan is to pack the lane and hack at every opportunity. I wouldn't be a real happy camper coming off that court either having been grabbed/leaned-on/fouled most every time down the court. I sure hope the Litho's weren't looking for a little apres butt kissing but were even more pissed off that they let a close and potentially historic win get away...

Not everyone can be "The Glyde" and so successfully fill airtime with all of the sweet cliches you so desperately need to hear to assure you that your world is still in order.

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"That's two years, Two rings, and I'm thinkin' about going for another one...YEAH!!" --S. Cassel

 

Mr. ScreamingRocketJet.....the last time I checked, the 2000 Dream Team is undefeated. And coming close to defeating them does not count for anything. Maybe one day, when you take your head out of your ass, you'll realize that every player on the 2000 Dream Team, including scrub Vin Baker, is more refined technically, fundamentally, practically, and indisputably in the game of basketball than any player on any other team competing in the Olympics. Maybe one day, upon completing the removal of your head from your ass, you too will see that Steve Nash, Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, and Frederic Weis are garbage players in the NBA because when it comes to fundamentals, competetive instincts, reflex instincts, and overall impact they basically suck. Just like nearly all of the other best players from all the countries outside the USA. You're a fool for posting this bullsh!t. "your basketballers are NOT that good anymore as BASKETBALL PLAYERS.....inferior to a lot of the Europeans." Get a clue.

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The USA Olympic Basketball squad unquestionably has the greatest players in the world, but they are not the best team. The better team lost that game, the better group of players won.
I say they should send the NCAA champions to the olympics. That way you have a group of amatuers (who don't have cash oozing out of their ears) that actually care about winning the gold, not getting a free trip to Sydney. Now that would provide some truly competitive ball.
By the way, Rudy is the only reason I wanted Team USA to win that game. Carter is a wanker (for the most part).

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1999-2000 Rockets Game Formulas:
End of 1st quarter: "They're playing so well!"
2nd: "What a great game!"
3rd: "Theres no way they can lose now!"
4th: "What the ******* **** happened?!!"

 

I know this will sound ludicrous to most of you guys, but the NBA had a greater game when I was a boy: Russell, Wilt, Big O, Dave Bing (wow!), Nate Thurmond, Billy Cunningham (wow!), Hal Greer, Satch Sanders et al.

ScreamingRocketJet has hit the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned. The NBA has prostituted the game for TV (can the XNBA be far behind?) and licensed NBA gear sales.

It has turned into a freaky, star-studded extravaganza (which I hardly ever watch).

My dream: get a couple of tough-minded high school refs to call a game. Can you imagine the ruckus?!

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Time is a great teacher-- only problem is it kills all its pupils.
www.FlashAdvantage.com

 

In my opinion, every NBA title winner in the last two decades has displayed outstanding team play and contributed something new to the game.

Lakers--best fastbreak ever, centered around who I consider 1 of 2 smartest players ever
76ers--elevated defense to a new level
Celtics--best half-court sets ever
Pistons--invented the rotating D (with unprecedented teamwork)
Bulls--took the totating D and added a better offense to it.
Rockets--placed a great center in the middle of the rotating D, and exploited his speed on the offense end.
Spurs--introduced a high/low post "legal" zone to cruise through the playoffs
Lakers--ok...nothing here...hehe

I couldn't disagree more with RichRocket. There is nothing wrong at all with the NBA Playoffs, if you are a big bball lover like me. The best teamwork and defense always wins.

Sounds like you just want college zones back.

Do you really not see outstanding team defense in the playoffs? Or outstanding team offense by the Rockets in April.

Guys, this game is faster and more athletic than ever, the best and smartest now have to operate at a frenetic pace. Try appreciating that like Bill Russell does on the sidelines.


[This message has been edited by heypartner (edited September 30, 2000).]

 

I agree 100% with Nolen - I have always felt the team that wins the finals that year should play in the Olympics. That way you would have guys who know what the others are doing, who would still crush the international competition.

Yes, the international game is better. Yes, individual players are filtering into the NBA - but these are guys from many different teams - many different countries, and none are real stars in the NBA (there are some good players, don't get me wrong). The day that a whole Olympic team from another country makes it into the NBA is the day the international game has finally arrived.

If you took the top 12 players from non-US countries vs top 12 players from the US - and give them the same amount of time together to prepare, and play a series of 5 - who would win?

Both teams would play like the Dream Team now - confused, not cohesive. So the better players would win, probably the US.

Sorry, that is just a fact. I am not just some rabid "USA #1" guy, either. I am far from that.

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Talking to a dead hare about art

 

Bingo.

 

LOL. You act like if it's a new discovery for them.

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I got nothin'.

 

PipDaGimp

Man, do I ever have to disagree with you on this. The fact some podunk war-ridden group of ragtag players could play the US team to a near-defeat means the WORLD in the game of worldwide basketball.

America is known to support the underdog and we cheer those who were not expected to win and nearly defeat the "juggernauts". The 2 games against Lithuania did more for this sport worldwide than you're giving credit.

I stil say if you put a real NBA team (as in, the Spurs, the Lakers, the Blazers, etc.) against the Lithuanians, they would handily defeat them simply because they've played together so long. That's not the point.... the point is that it's never had to come to that. The fact that publications and others are screaming the coaching staff didn't prepare the team for battle in itself is a telling story. When was the last time a Dream Team had to actually get prepared for anything other than the flight?

The world is improving and these 2 Lithuanian games just prove it. Don Nelson has helped that Lithuanian team and the more American basketball influences basketball overseas, the better international basketball will become. This is just the first step.

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I got nothin'.

[This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited September 30, 2000).]

 

I just want to throw my hat into this debate by saying that I totally agree with ScreamingRocketJet.

The Dream Team are so full of themselves it's scary. The funny thing is, they really aren't that good. Like he said, I see them as a bunch of classless individuals rather than a team.

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My dream job is to be a Houston Rockets towel-boy.

 

I can't believe anyone is saying that the NBA and Team USA is lacking fundamentals and the team concept. If that is the case, please, name one team in the Olympics or in the NBA that has gone on to win it all that has not exhibited team play and strict fundamentals.

You can't!

Like HP showed in his example, every champion over the past 20 years or so have won because they played better, as a team, than the competition. And there is no way in hell that the game was better when Wilt and Russell were battling 35 years ago.
The athleticism in todays game and the fast pace which it is played has raised the the level of competition to such heights that some of the great players of years past would be average at best in today's NBA.

Forget the hype and promotion of the players because I have yet to see a Sprite or Nike commercial win any player an NBA title.



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Too often, we lose sight of life's simple pleasures.

Remember, when someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles in your face to frown, but it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and pimp-slap the mother****** upside the head!

 

Another thing, why is everyone so quick to jump on the entire USA Team??

I don't recall Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, Ray Allen, Steve Smith or any of the other guys outside of Vince Carter doing anything to embarass the team. If anything they are separating themselves from Vince verbally by saying things like "We'll leave the high flying, showtime dunks up to Vince." I think these guys know that he is embarassing himself. It's just unfortunate that he is also represneting the entire Team USA. I just wish one of the other players, or even Rudy, had the cojones to step to Vince and tell him to tone it down and conduct himself with a little class.

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Too often, we lose sight of life's simple pleasures.

Remember, when someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles in your face to frown, but it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and pimp-slap the mother****** upside the head!

 

So 'Jet can't know anything about basketball because he didn't grow up in America?

Let me tell you something about Austrlians 'partner. We have a population of 18.8 million and are world champions in 7 different sports, NONE of which we invented. We are sports mad, and intensely competitive.
Taking cricket as an example. The English invented this game many hundreds of years ago. As one of their "colonies" we had to play them and get whipped by them on a consistent basis. Now we boast the strongest domestic competition in the world and the world is at our mercy.
As a nation we are 212 years old and have not been playing basketball for a large number of those years. It is currently the largest growing sport in Australia and one day we WILL beat you at your own damn sport, mate


Oh, and I agree with Nolen and DoD in the points they either made or reiterated!

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Nolen,

I didn't catch your post earlier, but I agree with what you said. Great teamwork combined with talent can beat superstar talent alone. The talent level in worldwide basketball has improved far beyond what it was 1-2 Olympics ago. We're sitting here talking about the Lithuanians playing the NBA players close and heck, we haven't even bothered mentioning the French. I didn't watch the games, but to lose only by 10 is a major accomplishment for the French or any other international team.

The teamwork concept is best illustrated by the following :

Alonzo Mourning : one of the 2 best centers in the league.

Gary Payton : possibly the best point guard ni the league (sorry Steve)

Jason Kidd : possibly the best all-around guard in the league in that he rebounds, is a hell of a floor general, plays good defense and is one of the top 3 or 4 point guards in the league.

Vince Carter : Jordan minus the basketball knowledge and defense. lol.

Kevin Garnett : possibly the only person in the league that any GM would want more than this guy is Shaq. Arguably one of the 3 most coveted players in the NBA.

Hell, and that's just your starting 5. If the absolute best starting 5 team the NBA could put out there is a 10, this team would probably be about a 9.

So don't tell me about the US didn't send "the best" because if the near-best could barely get it done, that shows you what I loved about the Rockets' championship runs... it's a great system and the players to fit that system that wins, not necessarily just a team full of superstars.

FYI, the original Dream Team was beaten by college teams on at least 1 or 2 occasions, and that was the best collection of talent ever to be assembled on a basketball court.

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I got nothin'.

[This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited October 01, 2000).]

 

DrN,

About my comment regarding growing up in BBall country.

I say that only to annoy any foreigners who make ludicrous comments about this game which Jet did, by saying the level of fundamentals is decreasing in America/NBA...hell Fran Blinebury made the same statement in Sunday's paper, but he's a football writer from Texas. To me, those are not worthy of rational counterarguments, cause they are just meant as overstatements anyhow....so I made one the other way.

I see many one way sports arguments from foreigners DrN. SO I made one above, just to see how you guys respond. As I figured, you respond like, "You Americans don't know anything about our country, and how much we know basketball." Funny how everytime I'm in a foreign country or the World Cup comes around, I get into friendly conversations about sports. In nearly every one of them, a foregner next to us will jump in to make an comment about people from the US don't know jack about their sports. What do you say to that. And what do I say to Jet, who is pretty much condemning the future of the NBA.

Well, you know what: fine. So, I can accept that I will never know soccer like a Brazilian: the passion, the teamwork, the intimidation. I'll never know how Rugby gets better every year. I'm just an American who could never know other sports, and is arrogant if I say you don't appreciate/know our honored sports at the same level.

From what I've read about Lithuania, they live and breathe basketball. I'd be very interested in talking to Lithuanian's about growing up playing ball there. I don't see any other countries with generations of passion behind this sport. BBall will never be a primary sport for Aussie's, Germans, Italians, Brazilians, French, English to play while growing up. Yet, someone from each one of those countries has told me I could never know their sports because they are not primary sports in the US.

DrN...in my book, having grown up in the country that invented a sport I've played all my life and watch religously, when I see comments like Jet's or Blinebury's, I'm shaking my head. And I think every NBA coach is as well.

I would never make a statement about diminishing fundamentals in Brazilian soccer if they have a bad World Cup, or Blinebury's glorious football. To me, arguments about a diminishing NBA are xenophobic if not borderline "bigotry".

Jet must expect arguments back, and this time I chose to start with an annoying comment like soccer/rugby fans always give me. "You don't know anything about this game." IMO, his comment deserved it.

[This message has been edited by heypartner (edited October 02, 2000).]

 

hey partner,
just agree with the foreigners as they see things through foreign colored glasses....they need someone to crack on and why not crack on one of the more prosperous countries in the world...the USA...it has always been the case in all my travels and to a degree i can understand some of the things that they complain about but if i go on a case by case basis around the world attempting to talk as much sh*t as possible about each country then i could come up with hundreds of things about each place..neither of us are going to do that because we simply dont give a sh*t about them and therefore we are not out to prove our crap points...

plain and simply the US team won the gold...they may have almost lost or almost this or almost that ...but tell that to my cousin who 'almost' survived the car accident..still dead... so almost doesnt mean sh*t either...

i agree that they euros may be better shooters and some of the items that are considered 'fundamental' but tell me who gives a sh*t about fundamental or anything else when vince is skying and dunking over some guy...who cares if he can box out at that point..he just dunked on your french a$$ and i believe those are his nuts in your mouth....

looks like youll have to wait another 4 years screaming jet because almost doesnt stop us from wearing the gold...we won...what else is there?



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I think people are forgetting that we are the rockets...

WE DONT REBUILD...WE RELOAD....remember that..

 

Jet,

For another time I guess...as you say.

Just note,,,I was never defending the Dream Team. I only defend the title winners of the NBA, and all the coaches.

Plus, this is probably better for a bar argument. You really can say whatever you want to me or about my country; I'm over that as well. Damn, I'd like to see how long you can keep this up over a bunch of beers. Bring it on mate.